


Just in It for Sex

by BornToLose



Category: Guns N' Roses
Genre: Eventual Fluff, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Language, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25921759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornToLose/pseuds/BornToLose
Summary: You and Izzy are fuck buddies, no romance involved, just sex. When your friends think you're more than that, you start questioning your feelings.
Relationships: Izzy Stradlin/Reader
Kudos: 12





	Just in It for Sex

**Author's Note:**

> I'm never promising you when exactly I'll post a new fic again. Sorry this took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait! Also it's literally been five months since the last time I wrote smut and I'm not really happy with that part ugh

After three years of being together, your boyfriend broke up with you because you "didn't share the same interests anymore", but you knew he was lying. You'd seen him being all lovey-dovey with another woman a week prior and you'd almost hoped for a breakup because there was nothing you hated more than being cheated on. "Screw that guy," you reminded yourself over and over, but it barely took the pain that was hidden deep inside you away.

The first person you called was Izzy and after listening to you as you rambled about what had happened, he invited you to get your mind off of your ex by getting drunk with him at your favorite bar. You couldn't decline that offer and soon you were waiting in the corner where you always sat whenever you came here. Over the years it had become your unofficially reserved table.

It was only two minutes later that he plopped down beside you, slinging an arm around your waist. "Hey. I'm really sorry about that asshole," he murmured, rubbing his hand up and down your side. "I never liked that guy."

"Yeah, well," you laughed humorlessly, "turns out you were right about that."

Izzy gave you a sympathetic look before he raised two fingers at the bartender, ordering two beers as usual. He knew the both of you and it was always the same drink you ordered to start off the evening, which could get as long as to the bar's closing time when it was a special occasion or you were in a good mood. "You deserve better, (y/n)."

"It wasn't a surprise, but it still hurts, y'know?"

He nodded in response and handed you one of the bottles the barman had just put on the table. You took it from him and downed the half bottle.

There wasn't much to say about the breakup anymore as you'd already told him everything on the phone, so your sole purpose now was to get drunk and hopefully forget about that dick for a while.

Staring at the wall opposite you, which was full of posters of bands that had played here, you spoke up. "Honestly? Fuck men." A quick side glance at the slightly hurt expression on Izzy's face made you add, "Except you, of course. You're the only guy I really trust."

"Well, thank you. I guess that means a lot more now, considering you sound like you're about to wipe out the entire species of men," he replied, trying to make you smile. It worked, as most of the time. Whenever you felt like shit, he somehow managed to cheer you up a bit and if not, you still appreciated his effort.

After your third drink, you were full-on roasting your ex boyfriend and Izzy didn't hesitate to join in, telling you stories from when you had just started dating and how it was hate at first sight for him while you finally told him about some rude comments he had made about Izzy. He had regularly claimed you were cheating on him when you'd told him a million times that he was just your best friend.

* * *

When you woke up in Izzy's bed the next morning, vague memories came back and while you couldn't remember all of it, you were sure it was pretty good. Of course, it was strange and you didn't exactly know how it had come to this, but it was a very welcome distraction. You expected to stay silent about this night not to ruin your friendship and reached down to collect your clothes from the floor, planning on how you would blame it on both of you having been drunk if he brought it up, but when you noticed the guitarist stirring next to you, you realized this wouldn't work.

"Um… morning," you mumbled awkwardly as he opened an eye to look at you. You pulled at the blanket you shared to cover your bare chest.

Izzy smiled sleepily, his sable hair sticking up into all directions. "Morning."

He must have mistaken this for one of the more frequent sleepovers because he was a bit too calm for your taste. Hell, you'd just fucked and he was still as relaxed as usual!

You cleared your throat. Apparently, you had to talk about it regardless. "Hey Iz? How did this happen?"

"I don't know…" He sighed, trying to smooth his hair down. "It was good, though," he reluctantly added and you nodded slightly in agreement.

Admittedly, you enjoyed last night. You weren't in love with Izzy, but he certainly was a good lay and as you were both single, there would be no complaints coming from either of your partners if you kept having sex on occasion. At least you wouldn't be opposed to it. "Maybe we could do that more often but without the-"

"Like fuck buddies?" Izzy turned his head to look back at you, but you couldn't read his face well enough to make out his answer.

"Yeah, exactly."

He bit his lip in thought and nodded after a minute. "Okay, let's do it then."

Being friends with benefits did have some perks.

You got to have sex with one regular person, which spared you trips to the club to find a one-night stand, while not being committed to someone and having to sacrifice most of your time for your partner.

There were no romantic feelings involved, which didn't require you to have moved on from your ex boyfriend and be ready for being with someone new. Romance was strictly forbidden anyway.

When you were about to hook up, you didn't have to make too much of an effort to look sexy. Sure, you'd try to look good, but Izzy had seen you at your worst multiple times and didn't care too much about how hot you looked. Neither did you.

The fact that there were no promises, emotions and plans for the future also made the whole thing easier to end without having that bitter or sad feeling following an actual breakup. Staying friends would be easier than after being in a serious relationship.

Knowing you won't be together for the long haul and it wouldn't go further than casual sex, protection would never be forgotten as neither of you would want to raise children, no matter how much you liked each other platonically.

The most important aspect was that you'd known each other for years and you'd built up enough trust to be comfortable with sleeping together. You weren't having sex with a stranger and you could talk about what you liked and didn't like without anything being awkward.

Like you, Izzy wasn't the type of guy to go brag about his girlfriends or flings, so you had nothing to worry about. You both agreed that you'd be discreet about it.

Although the concept was overall informal, there were a few personal rules.

You never shared kisses because you weren't a couple and both of you were scared that kind of intimacy could ruin your friendship.

Izzy insisted that no matter how horny either of you were, he would never give you hickeys because he won't mark territory that isn't actually his. In his eyes, love bites were a sign of a deep romantic connection and some kind of confirmation that things were meant to last for a long time.

Obviously, you were both allowed to get a partner without asking for permission first. It wasn't a real relationship and there were no obligations whatsoever.

Neither of you wanted to let broken rules get in the way of your friendship and possibly break you up. Your bond was very strong, but you weren't sure if it could endure a particularly bad mistake.

The first couple of times you had sex, both of you were a little nervous because it was completely new to you and Izzy tried to cheer you up by reminding you that he'd already seen you naked the night you'd gotten drunk after your breakup. He even offered to end it right then if you felt uncomfortable. It was almost sad how he cared more for you in that way than your ex had.

As regular hookups got a normal thing for you to do, the sex got more heated and you realized why all the groupies tried to get into his pants. Izzy would often take you to his gigs, where he would spontaneously squeeze in a quickie in his dressing room before or after the show.

More commonly, though, one of you would call the other up after a long day at work to rewind and let loose. That was when he was rather rough and most of the time that was just what you needed.

As long as you weren't in a rush, Izzy was good in terms of aftercare and you would usually just fall asleep or watch a movie if neither of you felt tired yet. From then on, you didn't regard it as anything more than a friendly sleepover. You were still best friends, after all and there was no reason to disappear in shame the moment you were done. He never got too physical, though, as he didn't want things to get out of hand and give you wrong impressions. The furthest the two of you ever went was sleeping on the sofa with your head in his lap. Of course, you never shared a bed and Izzy would volunteer to sleep on the couch. He was probably scared of one of you catching feelings if you cuddled too much and you couldn't blame him. That would literally be against the rules.

All this had been going on for about half a year before Steven asked you the question you'd feared the most when you'd agreed on that concept. "So, are you and Izzy together now?

His question made you freeze in shock. You and Izzy hadn't been acting any different around the guys - at least not intentionally - and you couldn't recall anyone walking in on you two. How did he get that impression?

"No," you replied as casually as you could. "What makes you think that?"

The blonde leaned back on the sofa and shrugged, tucking his hands in his pockets. "He's been talking a lot about you lately, that's all."

"What do you mean?" you asked, genuinely curious now.

"Yesterday he implied that you should go on tour with us and y'know, usually bands take their girlfriends with them…" he explained but trailed off towards the end, probably feeling like he'd already said too much. "Don't you have sex too?"

"Goddammit, Steven!" you yelled, not even wanting to think about how he knew that.

He raised his hands in defense. "Woah, it's not a bad thing! I just thought-"

"You're right," you revealed quietly, sitting on the armrest next to him. "It's just that, though. We're only friends with benefits, nothing more."

Perhaps the way you said that sounded like you were sad you weren't, in fact, together with Izzy.

Steven looked at you, a smirk on his face. "You sure? I don't think Iz sees it the same way."

You immediately shook your head. There was no way you meant more to him than a friend. You were perfectly fine with your relationship as it was and there was no reason to change that. Besides, he would break his own rules if what Steven was saying was actually true, which you doubted. "He once said sex without love is meaningless, so it surely doesn't mean anything to him. We agreed that no emotions would get in the way."

"Or he  _ does _ love you, which makes it meaningful," the drummer interpreted the statement.

"Stevie, please stop fucking with my mind," you groaned, covering your face with your sweaty hands as you tried to understand what he was talking about.

Was he claiming Izzy was still hooking up with you because he loved you and that's what kept him going? That he considered you girlfriend material and planned on taking you with him on tour, even though it was usually only the members' partners that travelled with them? It didn't make sense to you as you'd established at the beginning that no feelings would ever be involved and it was not comparable to a real relationship. If he'd had any kind of romantic feelings for you, he would have been straightforward. He wasn't one to beat around the bush and he knew he could talk to you about anything.

"Well, I think you're secretly in love with him too."

Sighing, you turned to look at him. "Hypothetically… how would I even know he really loves me?"

"I don't know, but friends don't look at each other like that," Steven said, leaving you thinking about the way Izzy had been looking at you in the last months, but you couldn't make out a difference.

"And he's been having an arm around you a lot lately," he added. Okay, that one you'd realized earlier, but he sometimes did that when he was tipsy and you hadn't made a big deal out of it until now. "He's not usually one to show affection in public. You seem to really got him, huh?"

"He was drunk the last time he did that." You rolled your eyes in annoyance at everything he was trying to read as a flirting sign. "You guys had been sitting at the bar for like a half hour before I came along."

"No." The drummer shook his head. "He'd only had a soda. He's just looking for physical contact, (y/n)! Even the others have noticed! I'm basically the one to tell you what the rest of us already know."

A part of you thought that maybe the reason Izzy never really got affectionate after sex was because he was trying to hold back his feelings, but the more rational part shrugged it off as a way to signal you there wasn't more than platonic feelings.

After this discussion, you weren't sure of your feelings for Izzy anymore. He'd been your best friend for years and you wouldn't give him up for anything in the world. You never wanted to lose him, but that was exactly what would happen if you did try to initiate a relationship between the two of you. Maybe Steven was lying or overthinking, but maybe he was right? After all, boys were often more willing to talk to fellow guys about certain topics than to girls.

As sex was never slow and gentle, you couldn't be sure of your feelings. It always made the impression of an occasional fuck - which it was - and doing this, there was no way to find out if you liked him more than you'd presumed. The only way to confirm you really felt like Steven had said Izzy did was to take things slower for once. Even if your feelings didn't turn out to be romantic, you'd still experience another side of him too. You didn't believe he would make fun of something small like that, so what did you have to lose?

You reached for the phone to call Izzy before realizing he wanted to come over tonight anyway. Well, what a timing…

Tonight was probably the first time you actually tried to look your best but in a semi-casual kind of way. You didn't exactly know why, you just felt like it, but all of a sudden you wanted to look good for him. You even put on that cheap black lingerie set you'd bought at some point for your ex boyfriend, but you didn't even care anymore. Either Izzy liked it or he didn't. After Guns N' Roses had signed with Geffen Records, Izzy had gotten you a perfume that you only wore on special occasions as it was more expensive than you could have ever had afforded before the record contract. You sprayed some of that on your neck and collarbones too. Go big or go home.

Fuck Steven for telling you about his "Izzy is in love with you" theory and not letting you indulge in suppressed feelings for the rest of your life. How dare he?

"Hey (y/n)," you heard Izzy's raspy voice coming from the hallway. You'd given him the spare keys to your apartment a long time ago just because.

"Hey Iz," you replied, stumbling out of the bathroom and adjusting your shorts, which wouldn't stay in place for long anyway. "How's your day been?"

"Uh… better than yours, apparently. Are you okay?" He frowned.

It looked like you let your frustration show in your facial expression and voice. "Yeah, I'm alright, don't worry," you lied.

Izzy followed you into the bedroom and as you sat on the edge of the bed, you sighed. "Can we… take it slower tonight? Like, not as rough as we sometimes do it but a bit softer for once? I just want to try something different…"

God, you were so bad at proposing this idea. "Not lovemaking or anything," you added as if the situation hadn't already been awkward enough.

"Yeah, of course we can," he replied, a small smile forming on his face as he took off his jacket and stepped closer to the bed.

You smiled in relief and laid back on the mattress, followed by Izzy crawling up to you, his hands on either side of you. He looked into your eyes for a moment before he leaned down to trail light kisses along your neck, his hands slowly wandering up your stomach underneath your shirt. "Is that… the perfume I got you last year?" he murmured, nuzzling your neck.

"Y-yeah," you only managed to say as he pressed a kiss to your jaw.

You lifted your arms to help him pull the shirt over your head. Once it was on the floor, he bit his lip, staring at the black lacy bra before reaching up to trace his fingers along the hemline. You arched your back, allowing him to unclasp it. He pushed the straps down your shoulders and attached his lips to your collarbone while completely removing the bra and beginning to massage your breasts. He looked up at you for permission and drew the answer from the gasp that escaped your lips when he ran his thumbs over your nipples. He continued leaving kisses all over your upper body, obviously enjoying every sound you made.

You closed your eyes as his hands roamed your body, thoughts racing, as much as you wanted to concentrate on what was happening at the moment.

Feeling Izzy fumbling with your shorts, you opened your eyes to find him looking up at you again. You nodded and he pulled them down along with your panties. He brushed his fingertips against your inner thighs, making your legs shake. Your breath hitched when he started leaving a trail of kisses towards your core and you clenched your legs together. "You don't want me to do that, do you?" he chuckled.

"No, please continue," you whined, trying and failing to hide the embarrassment in your voice.

A moan escaped your mouth as Izzy's tongue darted out and licked a stripe along your folds, his nose nudging your clit. You could only see his eyes, but you were sure he had that devilish grin on his face, knowing you weren't prepared for that. His eyes were shut as he continued his movements, leaving you gasping and squirming.

This had nothing to do with casual sex anymore, to be honest, but neither of you cared. After all, it was him who did the most work to begin with and if he hadn't liked it, he wouldn't have chosen to be so focused on touching and kissing you. You hadn't asked him to go this far. Still, you had to admit it felt even better than the times before and if you had been in a relationship, you would have almost called it romantic. Tonight he was really sweet and spent much more time on foreplay than usual. You'd previously had rushed and ecstatic shags that hadn't included much physical affection. Why would there have been any in the first place? You weren't even together and had promised not to let anything get in the way of your friendship. Yet here you were, asking him to have slow sex because you might as well be in love with him.

You wondered if there was a reason why sleeping with him was so different tonight… Was this going to be your last time? Did he have a new girlfriend and wanted to make a graceful exit? Or did he just take your suggestion very seriously? Could it be Steven was right about Izzy's feelings for you?

The guitarist lifted his head between your trembling legs and circled your clit with his finger for a short moment before completely sitting up. "Hey, this isn't one of those quickies!" he reminded you as you whined at the loss of contact.

"It's gonna take a bit longer tonight," Izzy added raspily, hovering over you and looking into your eyes again. You still didn't know the exact color, if they were hazel or brown, but you could get lost in them forever, even more so after this night. They were beautiful and no photo could do them justice.

You reached up to unbutton his shirt, still keeping eye contact. Once you were done, he sat back and shrugged it off, tossing it on the ground. One of his hands reached out to caress your cheek, fingers running along your jaw, making your heart race faster at the thought of what would happen now.

Eventually, he leaned down, connecting his lips with yours. You were startled at first but soon kissed him back, your hands flying up into his black hair. It wasn't even a hungry kiss, but it wasn't exactly a chaste one either. Something in between. Something that felt wrong and right at the same time. Something you had never thought about but enjoyed every moment of. Something that gave you the same feeling you'd had in the lovey-dovey initial phase of your previous relationships but better. Something you had tried to avoid at all costs but didn't want to end as soon as it started.

To your disappointment, he broke away after only a few seconds, but those were enough to give you a tingle in your stomach.

His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly as if to say something, probably wanting to apologize for breaking his own rules. You hadn't seen that coming either and were shocked too, but you gave him a reassuring smile that told him not to worry about it. In retrospect, you didn't mind that at all, but you tried not to let that show too much. You didn't even know if he actually enjoyed it too or if he was picturing someone else lying underneath him. It would get bad enough when you would have to drop the bomb later…

Izzy smiled back at you and started taking off his jeans as if nothing had happened. After throwing them on the pile of clothes next to the bed, he reached for the drawer and pulled out a condom. Nothing unusual so far. What was noticeably distinctive from all the other times you'd done the do was that he chose missionary, which you very rarely did. Normally, you'd try whatever position was suitable in the given situations and aside from the first time, it just so happened to never be this one.

"Ready?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he lined himself up.

"Yes." You appreciated his constant asking for consent tonight, but it also made even more questions pop up in your head as being overly careful wasn't really his thing. He wasn't aggressive, but he normally didn't ask for permission before doing everything - at least not to this extent.

He paused after sliding into you, giving you enough time to adjust. Meanwhile, his hands found their way to yours, intertwining your fingers as he leaned down to press a kiss to your jaw.

"You alright?" Izzy murmured against your skin and you hummed in response. He buried his face in the crook of your neck, slowly rocking his hips against yours. You tightened your grip and he lightly squeezed your hand in return.

His head turned to look up at you for a moment and you pecked his nose, making him scrunch it up with a smile. You wanted to kiss him again so bad, with his lips parted as he moaned and his eyes shut in pleasure, but you didn't know if the previous one had been one too much for him already.

Every kiss, every thrust, every moan made your heart beat faster with excitement and released you from the worries you'd had earlier this evening. By now you could tell Izzy enjoyed it as well, which made you feel a lot better, knowing he didn't feel pressured into something he actually didn't like. He'd never force you to do anything you were uncomfortable with either.

After you'd both reached your climax, he laid on top of you for a couple of more minutes, hands still linked. Apart from the sound of your steadying breathing, there was complete silence. Eventually, Izzy sat up, letting go of your hands and carefully pulling out of you. "I'll get a towel," he said with a hoarse voice before he put on socks and padded into the bathroom.

At the beginning, his phobia of being barefoot made you wonder if he kept them on during sex, but apparently he just didn't like touching the ground without wearing shoes or socks. Thankfully.

When you were done cleaning yourselves up, he climbed into the bed next to you, probably too exhausted to move to the couch this time. "Good night, baby," he muttered before drifting off to sleep.

Did he just really call you "baby"? He wasn't one to use this kind of pet names lightly… Okay, he had to be thinking of another girl. Why should he call you by an affectionate nickname when you were literally just friends - or friends with benefits at most? And why did your heart drop a little at the mere thought of him being with somebody else? You knew it was his right to get a partner as well as it was yours, but you felt somewhat… disappointed. At this point, you realized Steven was right about you being in love with him. But was he right about Izzy feeling the same?

"Good night," you replied after a pause.

You wondered if he'd broken the kiss because you hadn't seemed too invested in it? You'd let him take the lead and just melted into it, going with the flow. But perhaps that was what made him think you didn't enjoy it? Had he realized it was a big mistake? Was he mad at you for not stopping him? You were pretty certain he wasn't drunk tonight, so maybe he did do that on purpose…

As hard as confessing your feelings was going to be, you hoped he would still be there in the morning.

* * *

You were the first to wake up and you didn't need to open your eyes to notice Izzy's body pressed against your back, his arm slung around your waist and his warm breath fanning over your skin. Any thoughts of getting up to at least get dressed were immediately wiped away. A week ago you had never expected to feel comfortable with your best friend literally spooning you after you'd hooked up.

You subconsciously moved your left hand to place it over his and he faintly grabbed it before putting both your hands back on your stomach. You closed your eyes again, suddenly not feeling awkward at all, despite your situation actually being awkward. As far as you knew, he didn't have to show up to any interviews or rehearsals today and if he did, it was his problem; he chose to stay in bed with you longer. A sleepy hum escaped his mouth, followed by a kiss on your shoulder that brought you back to reality. You wanted to start a conversation but didn't know what to say.  _ "Good morning, I know you're just in it for sex, but I'm in love with you!" _ Nope. He surely had something to say himself. That is, you wanted an explanation for his actions last night and this morning.

"So… did you like it this way?" he mumbled.

"Yeah, you?" You bit your lip, holding your breath as you hoped for a similar answer from his side.

"Me too."

Was that it? "Me too" was all he could say? Honestly, you'd expected a more elaborate answer. Yes, it was early morning and you'd just woken up a couple of minutes ago, but there had to be something more to say about last night.

You turned around to face him and his hand fell from your body. "What am I to you, Izzy?"

He furrowed his brows and looked down at the mattress before meeting your eyes again. You were usually good at reading his thoughts by looking into his eyes, but this time you had no clue. "Well… what am I to you?"

"I asked first."

Izzy's tongue ran over his bottom lip and he took a deep breath, propping himself up on his elbow. "I… I like you. More than as a friend." He talked slowly and his expression was more insecure than you'd ever seen him. He glanced over to you, a mixture of shock, surprise, skepticism and happiness on your face. "Sorry for breaking the rules, I really didn't mean for this to happen!"

Relief washed over you and you grabbed his face, pulling him in for a kiss. You could feel him smiling against your lips as you rolled on top of him, his hands resting on your hips.

"How many rules have we broken now?" you asked with a laugh when you ended the kiss.

He raised a brow in thought. No kissing? Check. No romantic feelings? Check. "Two out of three?"

You tilted your head. "What was the third?"

"The hickey rule."

"You know… all good things come in threes," you grinned, receiving a knowing smirk from Izzy.


End file.
